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Perceived Partner Responsiveness Mediates the Association Between Sexual and Marital Satisfaction: A Daily Diary Study in Newlywed Couples

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Abstract

Sexuality is an integral part of intimate relationships, yet surprisingly little is known about how and for whom sexuality matters. The present research investigated the interplay of sexual and non-sexual factors that contribute to relationship satisfaction. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that the association between sexual satisfaction and marital satisfaction is mediated by a non-sexual factor—namely, perceived partner responsiveness (PPR). Additionally, we tested the role of gender as a possible moderator of this mediated association. Thirty-four newlywed couples completed diaries with each spouse reporting their sexual satisfaction, marital satisfaction, and PPR every day for 30 days. We tested our predictions at both the person level (i.e., the mean level across 30 days) and the daily level. At the person level, we found that sexual satisfaction and PPR separately predicted marital satisfaction. Moreover, the effect of sexual satisfaction on marital satisfaction was partially mediated by PPR. No gender differences emerged at this level. At the daily level, we found similar support for partial mediation. However, at this level, gender did serve as a moderator. The stronger mediation found for women was driven by a stronger association between sexual satisfaction and PPR for women than for men. This study joins a growing literature highlighting the role of PPR in dyadic relationships.

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Notes

  1. The approach suggested by Bauer et al. (2006) essentially involves a simultaneous estimation of Models 2 and 3; in the present case, a model including all covariates as well as all specified actor and partner effects did not converge. As a consequence, the estimates of the mediated effects we report involved a somewhat simplified mediated model in which only actor effects and the moderation of these effects by gender are included. No partner effects emerged in Model 3, and thus no tests of their mediation were conducted.

  2. To rule out gender differences in the variability of the research variables as an explanation to the gender differences that emerged we checked for differences in both within-person variability (differences in the within-person SDs) and within-group variability (differences in the SDs of the average scores for men or for women). No gender differences emerged.

  3. To rule out statistical power as an explanation to the differences between Person-level and Day-level results, all analyses were repeated with 34 df entered for all effects. There were no changes in the results.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from the Faculty Research Support Program (FRSP) at Indiana University to Erick Janssen, Ph.D. and Julia Heiman, Ph.D.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Gonda Multidisciplinary Neuroscience Center, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Reuma Gadassi, Lior Eadan Bar-Nahum & Eshkol Rafaeli

  2. Kinsey Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Sarah Newhouse & Erick Janssen

  3. Guttmacher Institute, New York, NY, USA

    Ragnar Anderson

  4. Kinsey Institute and Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Julia R. Heiman

  5. Department of Psychology, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Eshkol Rafaeli

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  1. Reuma Gadassi
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  2. Lior Eadan Bar-Nahum
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  3. Sarah Newhouse
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Correspondence to Reuma Gadassi.

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Gadassi, R., Bar-Nahum, L.E., Newhouse, S. et al. Perceived Partner Responsiveness Mediates the Association Between Sexual and Marital Satisfaction: A Daily Diary Study in Newlywed Couples. Arch Sex Behav 45, 109–120 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-014-0448-2

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